The Holmes Archive of Electronic Music Thom Holmes

This episode explores the analog electronic organ music of Terry Riley in the 1970s. We listen to three complete albums by Terry Riley, all using the Yamaha YC 45D combo organ with tunings for just intonation and using analog tape delay.

This episode presents examples of the Japanese art of shigin singing combined with electronics. Haunting and mesmerizing, shigin is a tradition that goes back to the late Edo period but has found its way into contemporary music in various forms. Enjoy!

This episode is a continuation of our exploration of Trance music origins. Maybe a more fitting title would be ”Pete Namlook and his Many Collaborators,” for all of this music springs from him in one way or another. We’ll hear Namlook’s collaborations with Bill Laswell, Klaus Schulze, and Tetsu Inoue.

In this episode we’re going to sample some of the early recordings of trance music from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Before Trance was absorbed into what is also called Electronic Dance Music, it rose up in Germany, specifically Frankfurt, and was put together by electronic musicians, some of whom were also sometimes DJs.

I have found a number of vintage and more recent recordings of electronic music that deal with the ups and downs of being in love. I have curated these for your listening pleasure.

There is a hidden seam of recordings in my archive of electronic music intended for babies which I am presenting here. It is also a great excuse to share with you some unique electronic music produced by one of the founding fathers of ambient and sequenced electronic sounds, Raymond Scott.